handcycles and shops?

[marc-triker]

Most of my friends are disabled in one way or another and several use wheelchairs in there day2day lives.
A handcycle (seperate not an add-on) would be a usfull tool for trips down the shops ect. Can they be used inside shops and/or shopping centers? We have noticed some of the bigger supermarkets have wheelchairs for customers but how do you do about other shops? Larger towns and cities have Shopmobility schemes running. Has anybody had any experiences of this or any similar matter?

 

[BentMikey]

Not that I know much about this, but I would have thought the larger size of handcycles would make this difficult in practical terms? OTOH the shops would find it very hard to say no!!

 

[Auntie Helen]

You'd be surprised what shops can say no to, I expect.

I often end up wheeling my trike around the pedestrian area of Colchester. It's surprisingly awkward and inconvenient, people tend to walk straight in front of it and not understand how the front swings out when I turn. Having seen various women with largish prams struggle in shops I'm not sure how a handcycle, with presumably a much less efficient turning circle, would cope. And you wouldn't be able to use it on an escalator or stairs, not sure if all shops with escalators also have lifts. Smaller shops (on one floor) probably don't have enough room for wider aisles that the handcycle would fit down. I presume the handcycle is longer than a wheelchair which would make it much less manoeuvrable in the smaller spaces. All supposition, but I suspect my suppositions are reasonably accurate!

 

[marc-triker]

Hard to belive 14 Years later I,m now looking at different Hand Cycles for myself. I want to be able to carry or tow my wheelchair and either shopping or camping gear etc.

 

[MontyVeda]

There plenty of mobility scooter users in supermarkets and shops, I guess a hand cycle will have a similar footprint? One guy comes in on an electric scooter that's so huge he may as well be driving a Mini around the aisles

 

[marc-triker]

We are going to watch some cycle racing tomorrow and there should be hand cycles there so it'll be a great day out